Originally Posted by
Fasteryoufool
True. I've seen cromoly frames as light as 3.75 lbs., but I wouldn't bet on their durability.
And that brings up another point - how many of those super light frames will still be on the road in 20 years?
Carbon Fiber and Aluminum can't take deflection, so they either have to make them strong enough to resist deflection, making them heavier... or they have to accept that they have a usable lifespan and will eventually fail. Often catastrophically.
The 4 lb. Cro-Mo frame will still be kickin' it, barring accident or severe neglect.
Even 4-lb steel bikes are pushing it for durability. When I was managing a shop 20 years ago that carried Bianchis, I once asked the sales rep what Bianchi of Italy did with the warrantied Bianchi USA frames. He said, "They don't do anything with them because they don't warranty the frames at all - Bianchi USA does, because that's what you have to do to sell bikes in the U.S." He said that the guys from Bianchi of Italy thought it was hilarious that anyone offered a frame warranty on lightweight, high-performance steel bike frames. They said that, sure, they could design a steel frame to sell with a lifetime warranty, but it would weigh 3 pounds more.
Not sure where the myth of the superior durability of steel frames came from, but it's only a myth. But it'll stick around for a long time, in the U.S. anyway, as long as the believers keep believing that aluminum bikes break because they're aluminum but steel bikes break despite being steel. Me, I agree with the savvy European high-performance bike buyers: I'll take carbon or aluminum over steel any day.